Child seat for a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

Child seat for motor vehicles with a seat shell and backrest, at the upper end of which a head support ( 10 ) with lateral wings ( 11 ) projecting towards the front is disposed. The inclination of the head support ( 10 ), at least of a headrest ( 12 ) disposed between the two lateral wings ( 11 ) of the same, can be adjusted relative to the backrest (arrows  13, 14 ), in particular, between an upright, waking position “W” extending approximately parallel to the backrest and a resting or sleeping position “S” inclined towards the rear.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/832,524, filed Aug. 1, 2007, which claimspriority to U.S. Patent Application No. 11/143,318, filed on Jun. 2,2005, which is now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,792, which claimspriority to German Patent Application No. 10 2004 039 204.8, filed Aug.12, 2004, and German Patent Application No. 10 2004 046 163.5, filedSep. 23, 2004. The entire disclosure of each of the foregoing patentapplications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a child seat for motor vehicles, with a seatshell and backrest, at the upper end of which is disposed a head supportwith lateral wings projecting towards the front.

Child seats of this kind are widely known. They are generally attachedto a rear seat or the passenger seat of a motor vehicle by means of thesafety belt provided in the motor vehicle. An extremely diverse range ofdesigns is available for this purpose; in this context, reference ismade to DE 43 28 635 C2 only by way of example.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of increasedcomfort and increased safety for the child. In this context, childseats, which can be tilted from an upright position into an inclinedsleeping position and vice versa are already known. However, these arerelatively complicated designs, the construction of which iscorrespondingly heavy. Moreover, there is the danger, that in the eventof a sudden braking of the vehicle, the child could slip forward fromthe sleeping position, under the safety belt, especially under the waistbelt. In this case, there is also especially a risk that the child couldbe strangled or seriously injured by the diagonal belt. To prevent this,it is imperative that so-called five-point safety harnesses are usedwith child seats of this kind.

Especially for the weight class from 15 kg to 36 kg (approximately 3.5to 12 years), child seats, which are held together with the child by thein-vehicle seat belts, are used as an alternative to the above-namedchild seats. The backrests of these child seats are generally connectedto the seat component in a rigid manner. Many designs also providebackrests, which can be rotated on the seat component about a horizontalaxis, so that they can be adapted to the inclination of the vehiclebackrest and allow a resting position inclined towards the rear for thechild.

In most cases, head supports are additionally fitted onto the backrestby plug-in connection. The height of such head supports can be adjustedto the size of the child's body. These head supports generally provideside wings for lateral support and to prevent injuries to the head inthe event of a side-on collision. The disadvantage with this design isthat no measures are provided to prevent the child's head from tiltingforwards if the child falls asleep with the associated relaxation of theneck muscles. In this context, there is also a slight shift in thebalance of the upper body as a whole towards the front with theconsequence that this also slumps forward. If a side-on collision occursunder such conditions, the child is practically without support, inparticular, the lateral wings of the head support are no longereffective.

In the event of a head-on collision, the slumped-forward upper body willgenerally have slipped out of and/or over the diagonal belt. In thiscase also, the upper body is largely unprotected.

The present invention is based upon the object of providing a child seatfor motor vehicles, which guarantees a high level of comfort with aminimum complexity of design and increased safety for the child bycomparison with the prior art.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the characterizingfeatures of claim 1. Design details and further developments of theinvention are described in the dependent claims.

The essence of the present invention is therefore that the head supportand/or head rest can be moved from an upright waking position into aresting or sleeping position inclined towards the rear, in order toprevent the head and possibly the entire upper body of a sleeping childfrom slumping forward out of the seat structure and to prevent the upperbody from twisting free from the diagonal belt. The safety of the child,for example, in the event of a side-on or head-on collision, remains atan unchanged, high level.

The inclination of the head support and/or of the headrest disposedbetween the two lateral wings of the same can preferably be adjustedeither infinitely or stepwise. This is ultimately a question of theexpenditure, which the manufacturer wishes to invest in the design.

It is also of essential importance, that the head support is mounted onthe backrest in a height-adjustable manner. For this purpose, the headsupport is preferably disposed at the upper end of a head-support holdermounted in a height-adjustable manner on the backrest, which can betubular in design or in the form of a plank. In the case of a plank-likedesign of the head-support holder, a wedge-shaped recess is preferablyformed between the two lateral wings, into which the headrest disposedbetween the lateral wings can be rotated. The rotational bearing for theheadrest is preferably disposed at the lower end of the same adjacent tothe seat shell.

Further design details of the rotational bearing and of the measures forpositioning the head support and/or headrest are described in greaterdetail in claims 8 and following.

A preferred embodiment of a head support designed according to theinvention will be described in greater detail below with reference tothe attached drawings. The drawings are as follows:

FIG. 1 shows in a perspective front view a head-support structuredesigned according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows in an exploded perspective view the head-support structureaccording to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 of a modifiedembodiment of a head-support structure; and

FIG. 4 shows in a schematic lateral view the principle of the headsupport according to the invention illustrating the rotational mechanismfor a headrest disposed between the lateral wings of a head support.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show schematically a head-support structure according tothe invention. It is the head support of a child seat for motorvehicles, which comprises a seat shell and backrest. According to FIGS.1 to 3, the head support 10 is provided with lateral wings 11 projectingtowards the front. A headrest 12 is disposed between the two lateralwings 11, in particular, in such a manner that its inclination relativeto the backrest is adjustable. This adjustment is indicated by thedouble arrow 13 in FIG. 1 and by the arrow 14 in FIG. 3. Alternatively,the entire head support 10 could be mounted in a rotatable manner. Inthe case of the illustrated exemplary embodiment, however, only theheadrest is rotatable, in particular, relative to the two lateral wings11 and between an upright waking position extending approximatelyparallel to the backrest and a resting or sleeping position inclinedtowards the rear. In this context, reference is made to FIG. 4, in whichthese two positions of the headrest 12 are indicated as follows. Thewaking position is marked with the reference letter “W” and the restingor sleeping position is marked with the reference letter “S”.

The inclination of the headrest 12 can be adjusted either infinitely or,as shown in FIG. 4, stepwise.

It must be emphasized that the head support 10 is mounted in aheight-adjustable manner on the backrest, which is not illustrated ingreater detail here. For this purpose, the head support 10 is arrangedat the upper end of a head-support holder 15 mounted in aheight-adjustable manner on the backrest, which, in the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is designed in the form of a plank. Sincethe mechanism for the height-adjustment of the head support is notrelevant to the present invention, this feature is not presented ordescribed in greater detail here. However, a person skilled in the artwill know how to design a height-adjustment of this kind. For thispurpose, the plank-like head-support holder 15 must always be mounted ina displaceable manner within the backrest, preferably at the rear sideof the same. Moreover, complementary locking mechanisms are provided, onthe one hand, on the backrest and, on the other hand, on thehead-support holder 15, in order to fix the head support at differentheights relative to the seating surface of the child seat. To thisextent, the child seat can be described as capable of “growing with thechild”.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and also as shown in FIG. 3,the lateral wings 11 projecting towards the front are moulded at theupper end of the plank-like head-support holder 15. The lateral wings 11therefore form an integral component of the head-support holder 15.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a wedge-shaped recess 16 is formed in theregion between the two lateral wings 11, into which the headrest 12disposed between the lateral wings 11 can be rotated (FIGS. 3 and 4).The lower end of the headrest 12 adjacent to the seat shell is mountedon the backrest, and/or in the present case, on the head-support holder15, in a rotatable manner about a horizontal transverse axis 17. In theupper region of the headrest 12, means are provided for a hook-inconnection at different tilting positions relative to the backrestand/or the head-support holder 15, as indicated in FIG. 4 by thereference numbers 18, 19.

Moreover, FIG. 4 shows that the headrest 12 together with the rotationalbearing 17 can be raised, preferably against the action of a tensionspring 20 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), so that on raising the headrest 12 in thedirection of the arrow 21 in FIG. 4, the hook-in connection for a firsttilting position, the waking position “W” in FIG. 4, can be released andthe headrest 12 can be moved from this waking position into a secondtilting position, the sleeping position “S” in FIG. 4 and can be lockedin this position by lowering the headrest in the direction of the arrow22, and vice versa. FIG. 4 also shows that the headrest 12 can be movedinto an intermediate position 23 between the waking position and thesleeping position.

The embodiment presented also has the major advantage that in the caseof sudden braking and/or a head-on collision, the headrest 12automatically moves forward because of its mass inertia and is hookedinto the waking position “W”. Accordingly, the child's head is supportedin the upright position when it is jolted backwards at the end of thebraking procedure and/or collision. A whiplash trauma is thereforeconsiderably reduced by comparison with a headrest, which is permanentlyinclined towards the rear and/or, as in the prior art, by comparisonwith a backrest inclined towards the rear with head support rigidlyattached to it.

The rotational bearing 17 of the headrest 12 comprises two mounting pinsprojecting at both sides of the same or a continuous rotational axis,which projects beyond the latter at both sides of the headrest 12. Thesemounting pins 17 correspond with oblong retainers 24 disposed in thebackrest or respectively, in the present case, in the head-supportholder 15 and extending approximately parallel, to the backrest and/orto the head-support holder 15. In the upper region of the headrest 12, apositioning pin 19 projects laterally at least on one side, preferablyon both sides of the same. These pins each correspond with a guidechannel 18, each of which is formed on the mutually adjacent side of thelateral wing 11 (see also FIG. 3, where the guide channel is an integralcomponent of the lateral wing, and indeed still within the region of thewedge-shaped recess 16). The guide channel 18 is curved to correspond tothe circle of rotation of the headrest 12 about the rotational axis 17.Furthermore, the guide channel 18 provides at least two retaining slots25, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, three retaining slots 25,into which the positioning pins 19 can be inserted. In every case, tworetaining slots 25 of this kind are provided, wherein the one definesthe waking position and the other defines the sleeping position of theheadrest 12. In the present case, an intermediate position 23 is definedby a middle retaining slot 25.

The above named head-support structure preferably consists of mouldedfoam parts, but preferably comprises synthetic material parts (e.g.polyethylene) manufactured using injection-moulding or blow-mouldingprocesses. The individual parts can additionally be covered byupholstery or a fabric covering.

The wedge-shaped recess 16, into which the headrest 12 can be rotated,allows an angle of rotation of approximately 10° to 20°, especiallyapproximately 15° to 17°.

As already explained with reference to FIG. 3, the guide channel 18 canbe an integral component of the lateral wings or of the head-support 8holder. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to provide the guidechannel 18 as a separate component, especially made from metal.Corresponding guide catches are then inserted into corresponding lateralrecesses in the lateral wings. In FIG. 2, a lateral recess of this kindfor receiving a guide channel 18 is marked with the reference number 26.

A hand-grip recess, or a handle, which facilitates the lifting of theheadrest 12 against the action of the spring 20, is preferably formed atthe upper limiting edge of the headrest 12.

The above description shows that the head support can be rotatedindependently of the height of the head support relative to the seatsurface of the child seat.

All of the features disclosed in the application documents are claimedas essential to the invention, in so far as they are novel eitherindividually or in combination by comparison with the prior art.

REFERENCE MARKINGS

-   10 Head support-   11 Lateral wing-   12 Headrest-   13 Double arrow-   14 Arrow-   15 Head-support holder-   16 Recess-   17 Transverse and/or rotational axis-   18 Guide channel-   19 Pin or positioning pin-   20 Tension Spring-   21 Arrow-   22 Arrow-   23 Intermediate position-   24 Oblong retainer-   25 Retaining slot-   26 Recess-   W=Waking position-   R=Resting or sleeping position

1. Child seat for motor vehicles, with a seat shell and a backrest, atthe upper end of which is disposed a head support with lateral wingsprojecting towards the front, characterised in that a headrest disposedbetween the two lateral wings (11) of the head support, is adjustablerelative to the two lateral wings and to the backrest, between anupright waking position extending approximately parallel to the backrestand a resting or sleeping position inclined towards the rear relative tosaid backrest or its rest surface, respectively.
 2. Child seat accordingto claim 1, characterised in that the inclination of the head support(12) disposed between the two lateral wings of the same, can be adjustedeither smoothly or stepwise.
 3. Child seat according to claim 1,characterised in that the head support is mounted on the backrest in aheight-adjustable manner.
 4. Child seat according to claim 3,characterised in that the head support is disposed at the upper end of ahead-support holder (15) mounted in a height-adjustable manner at theupper end of the backrest.
 5. Child seat according to claim 4,characterised in that the head-the support holder (15) is designed in atubular manner or in the form of a plank.
 6. Child seat according toclaim 5, characterised in that the lateral wings projecting towards thefront are moulded onto the upper end of the plank-like head-supportholder, wherein a wedge-shaped recess, into which the headrest disposedbetween the lateral wings can be rotated, is formed in the regionbetween these two lateral wings.
 7. Child seat according to claim 6,characterised in that the lower end of the headrest adjacent to the seatshell is mounted in a rotatable manner about a horizontal, transverseaxis, on the backrest or the head-support holder, while means areprovided in the upper region of the headrest, for a hook-in connectionin various tilting positions relative to the backrest or to thehead-support holder.
 8. Child seat according to claim 7, characterisedin that the headrest, together with the rotational bearing, can beraised, in particular against the action of a resilient element (tensionspring), so that when the headrest is raised, the hook-in connection fora first tilting position of the same can be released, and the headrestcan be moved into a second tilting position and can be hooked into thelatter by lowering or vice versa.
 9. Child seat according to claim 8,characterised in that the rotational bearing of the headrest comprisestwo bearing pins, which correspond with oblong retainers arranged in thebackrest and/or in the head-support holder and extending approximatelyparallel to the backrest and/or head-support holder.
 10. Child seataccording to claim 9, characterised in that a positioning pin or similarprojection projects laterally in the upper region of the headrest, on atleast one side of the same, which positioning pin corresponds with aguide channel disposed in the backrest or in the head-support holder,which is designed in a curve corresponding to the circle of rotation ofthe headrest and which provides at least two retaining slots, one ofwhich defines the waking position of the headrest and another of whichdefines the sleeping position of the headrest, and into which thepositioning pins can optionally be inserted.